SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - The Augustana Vikings earned its second ranked victory of the season, topping No. 24 Southwest Minnesota State 62-59 on Friday night inside the Elmen Center. 

It is the first conference victory for the Vikings as they move to 4-8 overall and 1-5 in the NSIC while the Mustangs fall to 9-3, 4-2. 

Tanner Te Slaa led all scorers with 18 points on 5 of 10 shooting, 4 of 8 from deep and 4 of 4 from the free throw line and added four steals. Sam Rensch knocked down four 3-pointers of his own. Akoi Akoi added 11 points, Bennett Fried had nine rebounds and Tameron Ferguson had six assists as each player chipped in for a team victory. 

Augustana knocked down a season-high 11 3-pointers to help lead them to victory. The Vikings held advantages in points off turnovers (24-8), steals (11-4), and fast break points (12-8) in the win. 

The Vikings came out on fire, scoring 19 points on 7 of 9 shooting in the first 5:14 to take a 19-7 lead. AU shot 5 of 6 from deep during that stretch, including three from Rensch, and forced six turnovers. 

3-point shooting continued to be the story when SMSU closed the gap with back-to-back threes to get back into the game. Akoi and Jack Hastreiter followed with a 5-0 mini-run to get the lead back to double digits and Malyk Rebetez hit a jumper after a Mustang layup to keep it there at 26-15 with 9:55 left in the half. 

A flurry by SMSU followed, ripping off a 12-0 run over a four minute stretch to gain its first lead of the game at 27-26 with 5:38 left. AU didn't waver to end the half, scoring six of the final nine points to take a 32-30 lead into the locker room. 

The 3-point shooting from Augustana came back alive to open the second half as the Vikings knocked down three of its first four from deep in the half to grow its lead to 41-33 and force a timeout with 16:24 to go. 

The game would find balance from there as the Mustangs finally cut within five at the 12:14 mark. Ferguson, Hastreiter and Rensch combined for a 6-0 run to get the lead to double digits at 51-40 with 9:46 in the game. 

After the Mustangs cut it to five, Te Slaa drilled a three to lead 54-46 with 7:44 to play. SMSU roared right back with a 7-0 run to cut the AU lead to a point and after Rensch and Akoi fended them off, the Mustangs eventually took a 59-58 lead with 1:50 to play. 

On the very next possession, Akoi snagged the lead right back with a tough layup through traffic to go up 60-59. In the final 1:26 of game action, Akoi came up huge defensively, first with a steal at the 1:06 mark and then a huge block that glanced off of SMSU with five seconds left and Te Slaa hit a pair at the line with three seconds left to ice the game.

Augustana will close its 2024 slate on the road, taking on Wayne State on Saturday at 5:30 p.m.